As with most things in life, there’s more to know about paper aeroplanes
than you’ve probably ever considered. On YouTube, you can see paper
plane designer John Collins explain – in dizzying detail – the design
for his record-breaking creation, which flew 69.14m last year (a lot of it is to
do with the texture of the paper). Or you can watch the Red Bull Paper Wings
contest from 2012 (redbullpaperwings.com) and see Lebanese Elie Chemaly’s
10.68-second flight, the competition’s longest air time. We tested a lot of planes
– from F15 Eagle Jet Fighters to origami boomerangs and planes called Fury
(see aerogami.com) – but found the one explained on page 34 to have the best
combination of easy construction and smooth flying. We called it the n14 – and
it’s been annoying our colleagues ever since.
Toby Skinner, Editor
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Ways to treat the Little Mermaid
We suggest leaving her
alone. On 23 August,
celebrate 100 years since
Edvard Eriksen unveiled his
statue, commissioned by
Carlsberg scion
Carl Jacobsen.
On 24 April 1964, the
avant-garde Situationists
decided to saw off and
steal the Little Mermaid’s
head (and not return it).
Why? Radical politics.
Or something.
On 22 July 1984, two men
cut off her right arm.
Feeling guilty two days
later, they returned it
and watched the arm get
re-attached in one of the
mermaid’s many surgeries.
On 8 March 2006, a group
of feminists attached a
sex toy to the statue’s
hand and daubed the date
on her in green paint –
all for International
Women’s Day. Really?
Jim from
The Office
:
funny, but a sub-par
paper plane designer
We approve
Budapest
being hip
The Buddha-Bar Hotel
in Budapest is set in the
100-year-old Klotild
Palace, a stunning build-
ing right on Budapest’s
iconic Váci utca shop-
ping street. Expect
Asian-colonial designs,
chic lounge bars and a
spa with saunas, steam
rooms and hot baths.
buddhabarhotelbuda
pest.com
Harry Hole
being alive
At the end of
Phantom,
Jo Nesbø’s
ninth Harry Hole book,
readers thought the
loose cannon detective
was dead. Not only is he
alive, but latest offering
Police
had the largest
first print-run in Norwe-
gian publishing history
– a whopping 270,000
copies.
jonesbo.com
Getting the sun
on Rjukan
Nestled deep in a valley,
the Norwegian town of
Rjukan is totally deprived
of sunlight for half the
year. But a new plan
to install mirrors in the
mountains to reflect sun
onto the town’s main
square will hopefully
result in Rjukan’s least
gloomy winter ever.
visitrjukan.com
GET T Y
LEGO: WARRENELSMORE.COM
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